Known reclining seat designs for vehicles typically employ seat and backrest cushion supports that each include a suspension matt stretched between spaced frame members to respectively support the seat and backrest cushions. The relative outboard location of these spaced frame members within the seat and backrest means that these seat and backrest frame members occupy space, for example, along the lateral edges of the backrest that might otherwise be used to accommodate rear seat passengers, particularly those with longer-than-average legs. Additionally, frame cross-members bridging the spaced frame members, for example, along the rear portion of the seat cushion support and the bottom portion of the backrest support, may also contribute to a reduction in available rear seat passenger foot room.
Further, such known reclining seat designs employ a seat-to-backrest pivot axis that lies within a plane situated behind, as well as perhaps beneath, the seated passenger. When a seated passenger adjusts the backrest inclination, the passenger's upper torso is displaced longitudinally relative to fixed points within the vehicle, such as the vehicle's steering wheel, infotainment systems, and interior storage, which may require a subsequent fore-aft adjustment of the entire seat in order to restore the passenger's desired relation to these fixed points in the vehicle. The rearward placement of known backrest pivots may also generate an aesthetically-less-desirable gap between the seat cushion and the backrest cushion as the inclination of the backrest is changed.